Places To Go

Where are you interested in traveling? See our list for the best places to visit this season

Places To GoWe often write about travel destinations, particularly those that are wine related. This week, I wanted to flip things around a bit to ask you, our readers, where YOU are interested in going. This can mean both virtually or for a real boots-on-the-ground experience.

Today, I present you with some thoughts on the subject and some of the likely destinations that will enchant us all. These are some of the top enotourism destinations of the world. Let us know where you want us to focus a bit more attention, and we’ll put our crack squad together to track down the best places to dine, sleep and visit in the most popular regions.

This will, of course, require some selective filtering on our part to get the ball rolling. We can’t present an inclusive list of every wine destination, so here are but a few locations with the requisite tourism infrastructure to ensure a spectacular stay for wine lovers and enthusiastic novices alike. After all, it does seem that when we go on our eno-vacations, a very willing and (hopefully) enthusiastic novice is often included in the package!

I would also strongly recommend the Finger Lakes area of NY State. Much more diverse ladscape than you would expect, and a very strong food and wine culture centered around the hip college town of Ithaca,NY. A truly beautiful and accomodating vacation destination with great wine and food.

We just held an event at the Allison Inn & Spa in the Willamette Valley -- it's only three years old and was built with wine tourism in mind. Beautiful hotel with a first class restaurant with a chef who earned his stripes at the French Laundry. We also enjoyed a wonderful meal at the Joel Palmer House nearby. And of course, the winery visits were fantastic.